Westlake's Results Boosted by Strong Olefins Business

7:19 AM MDT | August 2, 2012 | Lindsey Bewley

Westlake Chemical reported second-quarter net income of $115.5 million ($1.72/share), up 42% from the year-ago quarter, on a pre-tax gain of $16.0 million from the sale of Georgia Gulf securities. Sales were down nearly 2%, to $914 million, on lower sales prices for most of the company's major products and lower sales volume for PVC resin and building products. “Our olefins and vinyls segments both benefited from lower cost feedstocks in the second quarter, as ethane and propane decreased to their lowest prices in years as a result of ample supply...